Perfect song: Pink Cadillac.

There are some songs that I never get tired of, even after dozens or hundreds of times listening to them. I marvel at their completeness, their execution of craft, their tone and style. One of these songs is “Pink Cadillac,” by Bruce Springsteen.

Yes, I know it’s just a silly rockabilly song, and an homage to Elvis Presley, who liked himself a Cadillac or two. Bruce had another song about the make in “Cadillac Ranch,” but “Pink Cadillac” is perfect in every way. The guitar and drums are simple and relentless, and the sax parts are excellent. Bruce’s vocal is awesome. I don’t like everything he sings, but I love everything he sings like this.

They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple
But man I ain’t going for that
I know it was her pink Cadillac

Are there songs that you think are “perfect songs”? I don’t have many, but I’ll be talking about another one next week.

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2 Responses to Perfect song: Pink Cadillac.

“The Patient,” “Wings for Marie” (both songs) and “Lateralus” by Tool are all like that. They are songs that not just get their point across, but all of them enforce the meaning of the song by the very structure. “The Patient,” a song about patience, has a very odd meter that generates a very stuttering kind of rhythm to the song, while “Lateralus” has so many different nuances applying to the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Ratio as to generate hundreds of meanings to it alone.

And of course, there’s “The Great Destroyer” by Nine Inch Nails. As one of our local DJ’s said, Phil Spector may have his Wall of Sound, but Trent has perfected the Wall of Noise.

For me, song structure and composition are of extreme importance. Any song where I can listen and hear the craftsmanship not just behind the playing, but the song construction itself is likely to be a classic song to me.